JL 


TRANST.ATTO 

UC-NRLF 


B  ^  tDS  Moa 
CONSTITTTTTON 


E    1  ABLISHING 


SELF-G  OYEENMENT 


IN 


thj:  islands  of  cuba  Al\d 
porto  rico. 


PROMULGATED  BY  ROYAL  DECIIEE  OF  NOVEMBER  25,  1897. 


CO 

J) 

o 
a 


DIVISION  OF  CUSTOMS  AND  INSULAR  AFFATRS, 

WAR  DEPARTMENT, 

Auffusty  1S90. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT    PRINTING    OFFICE. 
1899. 


"^ 


TRANSLATION. 


CONSTITUTION" 


ESTABLISHING 


SELF-GOYEENMENT 


IN 


THE  ISLANDS  OF  CUBA  AND 
PORTO  RICO. 


PROMULGATED  BY  ROYAL  DECREE  OF  NOVEMBER  25,  1897. 


DIVISION  OF  CUSTOMS  AND  INSULAR  AFFAIRS, 
WAE   DEPARTMENT, 
:     ;  AfUffUk,  J899. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT    PRINTING    OFFICE. 
1899. 


(^  jU 


\0 


O 


h 


^ 


NEW  CONSTITUTION  ESTABLISHING   SELF-GOVERNMENT  IN   THE 
ISLANDS   OF   CUBA  AND   PORTO  RICO. 


PREAMBLE. 


Madam:  In  approaching  the  important  pi^oblem  of  the  introduction 
of  cplouial  autonomy  into  the  islands  of  Cuba  and  Porto  Kico,  a  task 
which,  together  with  that  of  the  pacification  of  the  island  of  Cuba, 
constitutes  the  obligations  which  the.  Government  has  contracted 
toward  the  nation,  the  ministers  are  of  opinion  that  detailed  explana- 
tions and  comments  on  the  complex  matters  which  the  project  embraces 
should  give  place  to  a  sober  but  complete  exposition  of  its  fundamen- 
tal characteristics,  of  the  spheres  of  action  to  which  it  extends,  and  of 
the  consequences  which,  in  their  judgment,  the  system  which  they  pro- 
pose to  Your  Majesty  for  the  government  of  the  Spanish  Antilles  will 
produce. 

Criticism  and  analysis  will  very  soon  elucidate  what  refers  to  the 
details  of  this  system;  the  essential  principles  and  the  spirit  of  the 
decree  are  all  that  can  properly  be  set  forth  here  and  at  this  time. 

To  do  this  is  the  more  necessary,  since  the  first  and  most  essential 
condition  of  success  in  this  class  of  reforms  is  absolute  sincerity  of  pur- 
pose. With  sincerity  the  Government  has  proceeded  to  consider  the 
best  form  of  autonomic  constitution  for  the  islands  of  Cuba  and  Porto 
Eico ;  and  that  the  results  have  not  fallen  short  of  its  intention  it  hopes 
to  give  in  these  observations  complete  proof. 

The  Government  proposed  to  itself  to  state  the  principle  clearly,  to 
unfold  it  in  all  its  integrity,  and  to  surround  it  with  all  the  guaranties 
necessary  to  its  success.  For  when  it  is  proposed  to  intrust  the  direc- 
tion of  their  affairs  to  i)eoples  that  have  attained  their  majority,  either 
autonomy  should  not  be  offered  to  them  at  all,  or  it  should  be  given  to 
them  complete,  in  the  conviction  that  they  are  thus  put  on  the  path  to 
j)rosperity,  unhampered  by  restrictions  or  impediments  springing  from 
mistrust  or  suspicion.     Either  the  defense  of  the  nation's  integrity  is  to 

3 


381496 


be  delivered  to  repfrssion  and  force,  or  it  is  to  he  intrusted  to  the  union 
of  common  allections  and  traditions  with  common  interests,  a  union 
that  will  be  strengthened  in  proportion  as  it  is  developed  by  the  advan- 
tages of  this  sj^stera  of  government,  advantages  which  shall  prove 
clearly  to  the  colonies  that  under  no  other  system  would  it  be  possible 
for  them  to  attain  a  greater  degree  of  prosperity,  security,  and  impor- 
tance. 

This  being  established,  it  was  an  essential  condition  to  the  attain- 
ment of  the  desired  end  to  seek  a  form  for  this  principle  which  should 
be  practical  and  intelligible  to  the  people  to  be  governed  by  it;  and 
this  form  the  Government  found  in  the  programme  of  that  insular  party, 
considerable  from  its  numbers,  but  more  important  still  from  its  intelli- 
gence and  its  constancy,  whose  aspirations  for  twenty  years  past  have 
familiarized  the  Cuban  people  with  the  spirit,  the  methods,  and  the 
vast  importance  of  the  profound  innovation  which  they  are  now  called 
upon  to  introduce  into  their  political  and  social  life. 

With  which  it  is  plainly  proved  that  the  project  is  in  no  way  theo- 
retical, nor  is  it  an  imitation  or  copy  of  other  colonial  constitutions, 
regarded  justly  as  models  of  their  kind,  for  although  the  Government 
has  kept  well  in  mind  their  teachings,  it  comprehends  that  the  institu- 
tions of  peoples  who  in  their  history  and  their  race  differ  so  greatly 
from  the  Cuban  people  could  not  take  root  where  they  have  neither 
precedent  nor  conditions  favorable  to  their  development,  and  where 
the  preparation  born  of  education  and  beliefs  does  not  exist. 

The  problem  being  thus  stated,  and  the  question  being  to  give  an 
autonomic  constitution  to  a  Spanish  territor}^,  peopled  by  the  Spanish 
race  and  civilized  by  Spain,  the  solution  was  not  doubtful.  Autonomy 
must  be  developed  within  the  lines  of  and  in  accordance  with  the  pro- 
gramme which  bears  that  name  in  the  Antilles,  without  eliminating  any 
of  its  substantial  bases,  and,  above  all,  without  altering  its  spirit,  com- 
pleting it  and  harmonizing  it  rather  by  giving  it  greater  guaranties 
of  stability,  as  behooves  the  government  of  a  metropolis  which  feels 
impelled  to  implant  it  from  a  conviction  of  its  advantages,  from  the 
desire  to  carry  peace  and  tranquillity  to  such  valued  territories,  and 
from  the  consciousness  of  its  responsibilities,  not  only  to  its  colony, 
but  also  to  its  own  vast  interests,  interwoven  so  closely  in  the  course  of 
years  with  hers. 

Thus  assured  of  the  form  which  best  corresponded  with  its  purpose, 
it  was  not  difficult  to  discern  the  three  important  aspects  which  the 
implanting  of  an  autonomic  constitution  presents.  In  the  first  place, 
the  sacred  interests  of  the  mother  country,  who,  alarmed  and  rendered 
distrustful  by  the  conduct  of  many  of  her  children,  and  wounded  by 
the  ingratitude  of  those  who  have  more  confidence  in  the  selfishness  of 
the  political  adventurer  than  in  the  affection  of  the  brother,  she  desires, 
above  all  things,  that  the  approaching  change  shall  strengthen  and 
confirm  the  sovereignty,  and  that  in  the  midst  of  a  blessed  peace  the 


interests  of  all  lier  children  which  are  not  opposed  to,  nor  in  contra- 
diction with,  although  they  may  at  times  be  distinct  from,  one  another, 
shall  be  brought  into  harmony,  made  coexistent,  and  developed  with 
the  free  concurrence  of  all. 

In  the  second  place,  the  aspirations,  the  needs,  the  desires  of  colonies 
anxious  to  be  treated  as  unfortunate  children,  instead  of  being  destroyed 
like  enemies,  responsive  to  the  call  of  affection,  but,  as  Spaniards, 
rebellious  to  the  brutal  imposition  of  exterminating  force,  which  expect 
from  the  mother  country  a  form  that  shall  mold  their  initiatives,  and 
a  system  which  shall  authorize  them  to  govern  their  interests. 

And,  finally,  that  vast  and  interesting  aggregation  of  the  relations 
created,  the  interests  developed  in  the  long  past,  which  no  one,  and 
especially  no  government,  may  justly  disclaim  or  neglect,  and  whose 
maintenance  and  development  involve  the  realization  of  the  destiny  of 
our  race  in  America  and  the  glory  of  tbe  Spanish  flag  in  the  lands 
discovered  and  civilized  by  our  ancestors. 

To  these  three  orders  of  ideas  correspond  the  fundamental  provisions 
of  the  project  submitted  to  the  approval  of  Your  Majesty.  To  the 
first — that  is,  to  the  metropolitan  aspect — belong  the  question  of  sov- 
ereignty, intrusted  to  the  highest  bodies  of  the  Spanish  nation.  The 
power  and  authority  of  the  King,  who  is  the  nation  itselfj  the  com- 
mand of  the  naval  and  military  forces;  the  administration  of  justice; 
diplomatic  intercourse  with  America;  the  constant  and  beneficial  rela- 
tions between  the  colony  and  the  mother  country;  the  power  of  par- 
don; the  guarding  and  defense  of  the  constitution — are  instrusted  to 
the  Governor-General,  as  the  representative  of  the  King,  and  under 
the  direction  of  the  council  of  ministers.  Nothing  of  what  is  essential 
has  been  forgotten,  and  in  no  degree  is  the  authority  of  the  central 
po^wer  diminished  or  lessened. 

The  insular  aspect  reveals  itself,  in  its  turn,  in  as  complete  and  perfect 
a  manner  as  the  most  exacting  could  re(iuire  in  central,  provincial,  and 
municipal  autonomy;  in  the  application,  without  reserve,  ambiguity, 
or  double  meaning,  of  the  parliamentary  system ;  in  the  powers  of  the 
insular  chambers,  and  in  the  creation  of  a  responsible  government,  at 
whose  head,  and  forming  the  supreme  bond  of  nationality  in  what  refers 
to  the  executive  power,  the  Governor-General  appears  anew,  presiding, 
on  the  one  hand,  through  responsible  ministers,  over  tbe  development 
of  the  life  of  the  colony,  and  on  the  other,  binding  this  to  and  bringing 
it  into  relation  with  the  general  life  of  the  nation. 

And  the  third  aspect,  which  embraces  all  that  refers  to  the  relations 
between  the  Antilles  and  the  metropolis,  and  in  which  must  also  be 
developed  their  commerce,  their  credit,  and  their  wealth,  is  defined  in 
a  series  of  provisions  of  a  permanent  character,  which  unite  the  two 
executive  powers,  the  insular  and  the  national,  and  on  certain  occa- 
sions their  chambers,  so  that  at  all  times  and  in  the  varying  cares  of 
life  they  may  mutually  support  and  aid  each  other  in  the  development 
of  their  common  interests. 


And  all  this  multiple  and  complex,  altlioiifjli  not  complicated  system 
is  legalized  and  made  practicable  by  a  series  of  guaranties,  of  bonds, 
of  constant  interclninge  of  ideas,  and  of  public  discussions,  which  will 
render  impossible,  so  far  as  human  knowledge  can  foresee,  dilemmas 
without  escape,  irreconcilable  dilferences  or  collisions  between  the 
colony  and  the  mother  country. 

This  last  is  a  point  of  such  importance  that  the  Government  would 
in  any  case  have  subordinated  to  it  every  other  question,  had  this  been 
necessary;  but  it  was  not,  nor  could  it  be  necessary,  since  the  basis  of 
the  new  system  rests  upon  the  harmony  of  interests  of  the  two  coun- 
tries, a  scrupulous  respect  of  mutual  rights,  and  the  desire  on  the  part 
of  the  mother  country  to  aid  unceasingly  in  the  development,  jiros- 
perity,  and  peaceful  progress  of  her  beautiful  Antilles,  a  desire  which 
the  Government  does  not  doubt  will  find  in  them  a  loyal  response. 

This  does  not  mean  that  questions  may  not  present  themselves  in 
which  the  two  spheres  of  action  will  be  confounded,  and  legitimate 
doubts  arise  as  to  which  is  the  preponderating  interest  in  them;  and, 
following  the  doubt,  more  or  less  heated  discussion.  In  no  self  govern- 
ing colony  has  this  failed  to  occur;  in  none  has  it  been  the  case  that 
the  central  power  always  and  systematically  approves  the  acts  of  the 
colonial  power.  The  list  is  long  of  the  legislative  resolutions  of  Can- 
ada on  which  the  English  government  has  put  its  veto,  and  curious, 
and  interesting,  besides,  the  series  of  judicial  decisions  which  have 
gradually  defined  the  various  powers  of  its  local  assemblies,  now 
among  themselves,  now  in  relation  to  their  governments;  and  this, 
notwithstanding  the  great  decentralization  and  the  past  history  of 
Canada,  and  the  existence  of  free  trade,  simplify  considerably  the 
relations  between  the  two  countries. 

But  the  excellence  of  the  system  will  consist  in  this,  that  when  such 
cases  occur,  and  especially  if  tliey  are  to  be  of  frequent  occurrence,  the 
various  powers,  both  as  regards  the  colonial  constitution  and  as  regards 
the  relations  of  the  colony  with  the  mother  country,  shall  be  so  exactly 
determined  that  there  may  always  be  room  for  a  settlement  of  the 
case,  that  a  means  of  coming  to  an  understanding  may  never  be  want- 
ing, and  that  no  occasion  can  arise  when  a  common  ground  may  not 
be  found  in  which  opposing  interests  may  be  reconciled,  the  opposition 
between  them  disapijear,  or  both  parties  bow  to  the  decision  of  the 
court. 

If,  therefore,  the  rights  which  the  constitution  guarantees  to  all 
citizens  should  be  violated,  or  their  interests  injured  by  the  municipal 
or  i)rovincial  bodies,  which  in  this  system  are  also,  on  their  part,  com- 
pletely autonomous,  the  courts  of  justice  will  defend  and  protect  them; 
if  the  corporations  exceed  their  powers,  or  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
executive  power  attemjits  to  diminish  what  the  constitution  of  the 
Kingdom  or  the  provisions  of  this  decree  declare  to  be  attributes 
proi)er  to  the  municipal  or  provincial  bodies,  the  aggrieved  party  has 
the  recourse  of  api)ealing  to  the  courts  of  the  island,  and,  finally,  to 


the  supreme  court,  whose  province  it  shall  be  to  detennine  the  respective 
powers  of  Jurisdiction  of  the  Governor-General  and  the  Colonial  Parlia- 
ment, whichever  may  be  the  appellant,  for  both  shall  be  equally  qualified 
to  appeal  to  the  couits,  and  to  seek  legal  redress  for  their  injuries. 

In  this  manner,  whatever  difficulties  may  arise  from  the  imi)lanting 
of  the  system,  or  may  spring  up  in  its  exercise,  shall  be  settled  by  the 
courts,  whose  source  of  legislation,  from  ancient  Kome  down  to  modern 
EnglaTul,  has  been  the  most  progressive,  and  whose  procedure  the  most 
flexible  to  reconcile  the  increasing  exigencies  of  real  life  with  the 
delays  of  the  law. 

In  this  manner,  the  autonomic  constitution  which  the  Government 
proposes  for  the  islands  of  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico  is  neither  exotic,  nor 
copied,  nor  imitated;  it  is  a  constitution  of  our  own,  conceived  and 
preached  by  the  Antillian  Spaniards,  willingly  inscribed  on  its  pro- 
gramme by  the  Liberal  party,  in  order  that  the  nation  might  know 
what  to  expect  from  it  when  it  assumed  power,  and  which  is  marked 
by  a  characteristic  that  no  other  colonial  system  has  ever  before  pre- 
sented. The  Antilles  can  be  completely  autonomous,  in  the  broadest 
signification  of  the  word,  and  at  the  same  time  have  representation  in, 
and  form  part  of,  the  national  parliament. 

So  that  while  the  representatives  of  the  insular  people  govern,  in 
their  local  chambers,  the  interests  peculiar  and  special  to  their  country, 
otlier  representatives,  chosen  by  the  same  people  shall  assist  and  coop- 
erate in  the  Cortes  in  the  framing  of  the  laws  that  are  the  mold  in 
which  are  amalgamated  and  unified  the  diverse  elements  that  form  the 
Spanish  nation.  And  this  is  no  trifling  or  insignificant  advantage,  and 
still  less  should  it  be  a  matter  for  surprise,  as  some  may  perhaps  con- 
sider it  to  be,  for  this  presence  of  the  Antillian  deputies  in  the  Cortes 
is  a  close  bond  of  the  national  unity,  which  rises  above  all  the  unities 
that  exist  in  its  bosom,  a  privilege  solicited  to-day,  as  one  of  the  great- 
est political  advances  of  our  times,  by  the  autonomous  English  colonies, 
which  desire  to  share,  in  an  Imperial  Parliament,  in  the  high  functions 
of  legislators  and  rulers  of  the  great  British  Empire. 

This  form,  then,  peculiar  to  the  system  adopted  by  Spain,  at  the 
same  time  that  it  gives  this  system  a  special  significance,  means,  if  not 
a  step  in  progress  brought  about  by  time,  an  advantage  conferred  upon 
us  by  circumstances  in  just  compensation  for  the  immense  afflictions 
which  our  colonial  history  records. 

The  Government  acknowledges  frankly  that  for  the  success  of  its 
work  public  discussion  in  parliament  and  the  criticism  of  public  opin- 
ion, in  the  press,  on  the  platform,  and  in  books,  would  have  been  better; 
but  the  fault  does  not  lie  with  it,  as  the  fault  did  not  lie  with  the  last 
Government,  that  the  stress  of  circumstances  obliges  it  to  dispense 
with  so  precious  a  guaranty.  But  if  the  party  which  to-day  serves  in 
the  Government  the  interest  of  the  Crown  and  of  the  country  did  not 
hesitate  for  a  moment  to  approve,  at  the  time,  the  policy  initiated  by 
the  Conservative  party,  nor  to  vote  it  the  indemnity  which  it  asked. 


8 

from  the  Cortes,  now,  when  circumstances  press  still  more  heavily,  it 
has  the  right  to  expect  that  i)ubli(;  opinion  will  approve  its  conduct 
to-day  and  that  the  Cortes  will  absolve  it  from  blame  to-morrow. 

For  this  reason  it  does  not  hesitate  to  accept  the  responsibility,  and 
it  purposes  to  put  into  immediate  effect  and  to  apply  practically  the 
solutions  contained  in  the  present  decree  with  the  same  sincerity  with 
which  it  has  formulated  and  executed  it,  rejecting  even  the  suspicion 
that  there  could  be  any  indecision  in  its  conduct  or  any  reservation  in 
its  promises.  For  if  the  system  should  fail  in  any  degree  in  practice 
through  a  want  of  good  faith  on  the  part  of  any,  it  will  not  be — and  we 
are  proud  to  declare  it — through  the  fault  of  the  men  who  are  animated 
above  all  by  the  noble  desire  of  pacifying  the  country. 

With  this  the  Government  believes  that  it  has  said  all  that  was  neces- 
sary for  an  understandingof  the  genesis,  theinspiration,  and  thecharacter 
of  the  project  establishing  in  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico  autonomic  rule,  which 
it  submits  to  Your  Majesty.  To  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  text  of 
the  constitution  of  the  Monarchy,  that  of  the  project  will  assuredly  pre- 
sent no  great  difliculty,  since  the  Government  has  adjusted  it,  in  so  far 
as  has  been  possible,  to  the  organic  system  of  the  former,  to  the  distri- 
bution of  its  titles,  and  even  to  its  form  of  exi^ression.  The  modifica- 
tions of  the  constitutional  articles  are  accessory  and  circumstantial;  the 
additions  correspond  to  its  special  character  and  have  in  view  the  mak- 
ing efficacious  of  its  provisions  and  the  facilitating  of  their  execution. 

Some  omissions  there  doubtless  are  that  will  require  to  be  supplied, 
and  some  corrections  that  will  require  to  be  made  in  the  decree;  the 
censure  and  the  defense  which  will  be  at  the  same  time  made  of  its 
provisions  will  show  what  they  are;  examination  will  show  also  what 
foundation  there  is  for  both  censure  and  defense,  allowing  the  good  to 
be  incorporated  in  the  plan  and  that  which  does  not  correspond  with 
its  fundamental  principles  to  be  eliminated  from  it  when  the  time  comes 
for  it  to  receive  the  sanction  of  the  Cortes. 

Let  it  be  understood,  however,  that  the  Government  will  not  with- 
draw from  it,  and  will  not  consent  that  there  shall  be  withdrawn  from 
it  any  i)art  of  what  constitutes  the  liberties,  the  guarantees,  and  the 
privileges  of  the  colony,  for,  ready  as  it  is  to  complete  the  work  and  to 
clear  up  all  doubts,  it  does  not  believe  that  on  presenting  it  for  the 
parliamentary  sanction  the  concessions  made  can  suffer  diminution, 
nor  will  it  consent  to  this  if  it  can  count  upon  a  majority  in  the 
Chambers. 

But  although  the  preceding  statement  embraces  all  that  the  Govern- 
ment deems  necessary  to  explain  the  general  lines  of  the  decree,  it  yet 
believes  it  indispensable,  for  reasons  easy  to  comprehend,  to  fix  the 
meaning  of  the  articles  which  refer  to  tariff  autonomy  and  to  the  debt 
which  rests  on-  the  Cuban  treasury. 

The  export  trade  between  the  Peninsula  and  Cuba,  which  represents 
some  $30,000,000  annually,  and  which,  besides,  gives  occasion  for  an 
important  carrying  trade,  has,  up  to  the  present,  been  subjected  to  a 


system  of  discrimination  altogether  incompatible  with  the  principle  of 
colonial  autonomy. 

This  involves  the  x»ower  of  regulating  the  conditions  of  import  and 
export  trade  and  the  free  administration  of  its  customs  houses.  To  deny 
these  to  Cuba  or  to  Porto  Eico  would  be  equivalent  to  nullifying  the 
principles  that  have  been  laid  down;  to  attempt  to  falsify  them  would 
be  incompatible  with  the  dignity  of  the  nation.  What  it  behooves  the 
Government  to  do,  after  recognizing  the  principle  in  all  its  integrity,  is 
to  endeavor  that  the  transition  shall  be  made  gradually  and  without 
j)rejudice  to  the  interests  developed  under  the  protection  of  the  old 
system,  and  for  this  purpose  to  make  an  agreement  with  the  Antillian 
governments. 

For  the  most  ardent  supporters  of  autonomy  have  never  denied  the 
disposition  of  those  countries  to  recognize,  in  favor  of  the  genuinely 
national  industries  and  trade,  a  margin  which  shall  assure  them  that 
market. 

Their  representatives  in  the  Cortes  have  always  declared  this,  and  all 
parties  in  the  island  of  Cuba  continue  to  declare  it,  according  to  testi- 
mony which  the  Government  holds  to  be  unimpeachable.  Complaints 
have  been  founded,  not  on  the  existence  of  preferential  duties,  but  on 
their  excess,  which  prevented  the  Antilles  from  securing  the  markets 
which  they  need  for  their  rich  and  abundant  products  and  on  a  want 
of  reciprocity,  ^o  invincible  difficulties  existing,  then,  it  may  be 
safely  asserted  that  such  an  agreement  is  not  only  possible  but  assured, 
especially  when  it  is  considered  that  Cuba  imports  from  the  Peninsula 
only  about  fifty  articles  of  the  400  on  the  tariff,  and  that  many  of  those, 
from  their  particular  character  and  on  account  of  the  customs  and  tastes 
of  the  natives  of  those  countries,  have  nothing  to  fear  from  the  compe- 
tition of  similar  foreign  articles, 

Neither  the  manufacturers  of  the  Peninsula,  then,  nor  the  ship- 
owners need  be  alarmed  at  the  declaration  of  an  autonomy  which,  when 
the  conditions  on  which  the  tariff  is  founded  are  changed,  will  not  alter 
the  essential  basis  of  the  economic  relations  between  Spain  and  the 
Antilles.  There  will  no  doubt  be  some  difiiculty  in  reconciling  or 
com]iensating  for  the  differences  that  are  inevitable  in  a  change  of 
commercial  systems;  it  will  be  necessary  to  combine,  in  some  manner, 
both  tariffs ;  but  neither  are  the  Cuban  interests  opposed  to  those  of 
the  Peninsula  nor  is  it  the  interest  of  any  party  to  diminish  commer- 
cial relations  between  the  two  countries. 

If,  indeed,  the  insnlar  government  were  already  constituted,  and  if 
it  were  possible  to  agree  upon  a  system  of  commercial  relations  with  it, 
this  question  would  not  have  assumed  proportions  which  it  does  not 
possess,  nor  would  there  be  any  cause  for  predicting  ruin  and  misfor- 
tune; facts  would  silence  suppositions.  l!^otwithstanding  this,  the 
Government  has  considered  that,  to  quiet  anxiety,  it  ought  to  antici- 
pate events,  and  that  instead  of  leaving  the  solution  of  the  question  to 
the  natural  operation  of  the  new  constitution,  it  was  proper  to  fix  at 


10 

once  the  basis  of  tlie  future  commercial  relations  betw<^en  tlie  mother 
country  and  the  colonies.  And  in  doinj;-  this,  and  in  oider  to  remove 
all  cause  for  mistrust,  it  has  hastened  to  fix  a  maximum  to  the  prefer- 
ential duties  to  he  imposed  on  Teninsular  goods,  offering-,  as  is  Just,  the 
same  rate  to  insular  piodncts. 

The  basis  (»f  such  an  agreement,  then,  being  fixed  and  determined, 
the  princi])le  of  autonomy  guaranteed,  the  equality  of  powers  in  the 
system  to  be  adopted  indisputably  established,  and  the  spirit  which 
animates  the  colonists  known,  the  transaction  will  be  easy  and  its 
results  advantageous  to  both  parties. 

As  regards  the  debt  which  rests  upon  the  Cuban  treasury,  whether 
directly  or  through  the  guaranty  which  it  has  given  to  that  of  the 
Peninsula,  and  which  this  bears  in  like  manner,  the  justice  of  dividing- 
it  equitably  when  the  termination  of  the  war  shall  allow  its  amount  to 
be  definitely  fixed,  is  beyond  a  doubt. 

Nor  will  this  be  so  enormous,  we  may  hope,  that  it  will  be  an  insup- 
portable burden  for  the  nation ;  nor  is  the  nation  so  lacking  in  resources 
as  that  the  future  need  alarm  it.  A  country  which  has  given  in  the 
past  months  such  splendid  proofs  of  virility  and  social  discipline,  a  ter- 
ritory which,  like  Cuba,  has  produced,  even  in  the  midst  of  its  political 
convulsions  and  an  almost  uninterrui)ted  warfare  of  thirty  years,  so 
much  wealth,  cultivating  only  a  small  part  of  its  rich  and  fertile  soil,  and 
which  has  done  this  with  its  own  resources  alone,  with  few  institutions 
of  credit,  fighting  against  privileged  sugars,  the  American  markets 
closed  to  its  manufactured  cigars,  and  changing  at  the  same  time  slave 
to  free  labor,  may  well  confront  serenely  the  payment  of  its  obligations 
and  ins])ire  its  creditors  with  confiden(;e. 

Therefore,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Government,  it  behooves  it  to  think 
now  rather  of  the  manner  of  settling  the  debt,  and  if  possible  of  pay- 
ing it  off,  than  of  apportioning  it,  applying  the  economic  methods  of 
our  time  to  the  vast  riches  which  the  soil  of  Cuba  assures  to  the  agri- 
culturalist and  her  subsoil  to  the  miner,  and  profiting  by  the  extraor- 
dinary facilities  which  the  geographical  form  and  position  of  the  island 
that,  not  without  reason,  has  been  called  the  Pearl  of  the  Antilles, 
offer  to  the  trade  of  the  world.  Although  none  of  these  matters 
can  yet  be  legislated  upon,  it  is  well  to  keep  them  in  mind  and  to 
give  serious  thought  to  them,  since  to  others,  who  can  not  assuredly 
be  accused  of  being  either  visionaries  or  enthusiasts,  it  has  occurred  .to 
profit  by  those  abundant  sources  of  wealth,  and  not  assuredly  for  the 
benefit  of  Spain  or  to  maintain  her  sovereignty.  When  they  have  done 
this  it  would  be  folly  in  us  not  to  imitate  their  example,  and  so  convert 
into  a  ransom  of  the  past  and  a  guaranty  for  the  future  what  has  per- 
haps been  an  incentive  to  the  war  and  the  origin  in  great  part  of  the 
evils,  to  remed}^  which,  is  now  our  most  earnest  desire. 

Cuided  by  these  considerations  the  Governiiient  has  the  honor  to 
submit  to  the  approval  of  Your  Majesty  the  adjoined  plan  of  decree. 

Madrid,  November  25^  1897. 


ROYATi  DECKEE. 

Upon  the  proposition  of  my  Prime  Minister,  and  with  the  concurrence 
of  the  Council  of  Ministers  in  the  name  of  my  august  son,  King  Alfonso 
XIII,  and  as  Queen  Regent  of  the  Kingdom,  I  hereby  decree  as  follows: 

Title  I.* 

GOVERNMENT   AND  OIVIL  ADMINISTRATION  IN   THE  ISLANDS  OF  CUBA 

AND   PORTO   RICO. 

Article  1.  The  system  of  government  and  civil  administration  in 
the  islands  of  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico  shall  hereafter  be  carried  on  in  con- 
formity with  the  following  provisions: 

Art.  2.  Each  island  shall  be  governed  by  an  insular  parliament,  con- 
sisting of  two  chambers,  and  by  the  (Toveriior-General,  representing 
the  mother  country,  who  shall  exercise  supreme  authority. 

Title  II. 

THE  INSULAR   CHAMBERS. 

Art.  3.  The  legislative  power  as  to  colonial  matters  in  the  shape 
and  manner  prescribed  by  law,  shall  be  vested  in  the  insular  chambers 
conjointly  with  the  Governor-General. 

Art.  4.  Insular  representation  shall  consist  of  two  bodies  of  equal 
powers,  which  shall  be  known  as  chamber  of  representatives  and 
council  of  administration. 

*  Explanatory  Note.  -To  facilitate  the  understanding  of  this  decree  and  to 
avoid  confusion  as  to  the  legal  value  of  the  terms  employed  therein  the  following 
definitions  are  to  be  observed: 

Central  Executive  Power The  King  with  his  Council  of  Ministers. 

The  Spanish  Pai'liament The  Cortes  with  the  King. 

The  Spanish  Chambers The  Congress  and  the  Senate. 

The  Central  Government The  Council  of  Ministers  of  the  Kingdom. 

The  Colonial  Parliament The   two    Chambers   with   the   Governor- 
General. 

The  Colonial  Chambers The   Council   of  Administration   and   the 

Chamber  of  Representatives. 

Colonial  Legislative  Assemblies The   Council  of  Administration   and   the 

Chamber  of  Representatives. 

Governor-General  in  Council The  Governor-General  with  the  Secretaries 

of  his  Cabinet. 

Instructions  of  the  Governor-General Those  which  he  may  have  received  when 

named  for  his  office. 

Statute Colonial  measure  of  a  legislative  character. 

Colonial  Statutes Colonial  Legislation. 

Legislation  or  General  Laws Legislation  or  laws  of  the  Kingdom. 

11 


12 
Title  III. 

COUNCIL   OF  ADMINISTRATION. 

Art.  5.  The  council  shall  be  composed  of  thirty-five  members,  of 
whom  eighteen  shall  be  elected  in  the  manner  directed  by  the  electoral 
law  and  seventeen  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Governor-General  acting 
for  the  Crown,  from  among  such  persons  as  have  the  qualifications 
specified  in  the  following  articles: 

Art.  6.  To  be  entitled  to  sit  in  the  council  of  administration  it  is 
necessary  to  be  a  Spanish  subject;  to  have  attained  the  age  of  thirty- 
five  years;  to  have  been  born  in  the  island,  or  to  have  had  four  years' 
constant  residence  therein;  not  to  be  subject  to  any  pending  criminal 
prosecution;  to  be  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  his  political  rights;  to  have 
his  property  free  from  attachment;  to  have  had  for  two  or  more  years 
previous  an  annual  income  of  four  thousand  dollars;  to  have  no  interest 
in  any  contract  with  either  the  insular  or  the  home  Government. 

The  shareholders  of  a  stock  company  shall  not  be  considered  as 
Government  contractors,  even  if  the  company  has  a  contract  with  the 
Government. 

Art.  7.  Persons  are  also  qualified  to  serve  as  councilors  who, 
besides  the  above-stated  requirements,  have  any  of  the  following 
qualifications : 

1.  To  be  or  to  have  been  a  senator  of  the  Kingdom,  or  to  possess 
the  requirements  for  being  a  senator,  in  conformity  with  Article  III  of 
the  constitution. 

2.  To  have  held  for  a  period  of  two  years  any  of  the  following  offices : 
President,  or  jirosecutiug  attorney  of  the  pretorian  court  of  Havana; 
rector  of  the  University  of  Havana;  councilor  of  administration  in  the 
council  formerly  thus  designated;  president  of  the  Havana  Chamber  of 
Commerce;  president  of  the  Economic  Societj"  of  Friends  of  the  Coun- 
try; president  of  the  Sugar  Planters'  Association;  president  of  the 
Tobacco  Manufacturers'  Union;  president  of  the  Merchants,  Trades- 
mens,  and  Agriculturists'  League;  dean  of  the  bar  of  Havana;  mayor 
of  Havana;  president  of  the  provincial  assembly  of  Havana  during 
two  terms  or  of  any  provincial  assembly  during  three  terms;  dean  of 
either  of  the  chapters  of  the  two  cathedrals. 

3.  Likewise  may  be  elected  or  appointed  as  councilor  any  property 
owner  from  among  the  fifty  taxpayers  paying  the  highest  taxes,  either 
on  real  estate  or  on  industries,  commerce,  arts,  and  the  professions. 

Art.  8.  The  councilors  appointed  by  the  Crown  shall  be  appointed  by 
special  decrees,  stating  the  qualification  entitling  the  appointee  to  serve 
as  councilor. 

Councilors  thus  appointed  shall  hold  office  for  life. 

One-half  the  number  of  elective  councilors  shall  be  elected  every  five 
years,  and  the  whole  number  shall  be  elected  whenever  the  council  of 
administration  shall  be  dissolved  by  the  Governor-General. 


13 

Art.  9.  The  qualifications  required  in  order  to  be  appointed  or  elected 
councilor  of  administration  may  be  changed  by  a  national  law,  at  the 
request  or  upon  the  proposition  of  the  insular  chambers. 

Art.  10.  No  councilor  shall,  during  the  session  of  the  council,  accept 
any  civil  office,  promotion  (unless  it  be  strictly  by  seniority),  title,  or 
decoration;  but  any  councilor  may  be  appointed  by  either  the  local  or 
the  home  government  to  any  commission  within  his  own  profession 
or  category,  whenever  the  public  service  shall  require  it. 

The  secretaries  of  the  insular  government  shall  be  excepted  from 
the  foregoing  rule. 

Title  IV. 

THE   CHAMBER   OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 

Art.  11.  The  chamber  of  representatives  shall  be  composed  of  mem- 
bers named  by  the  electoral  boards  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  law 
and  in  the  proportion  of  one  for  every  twenty-five  thousand  inhabitants. 

Art.  12.  To  be  elected  as  representative  the  candidate  must  have 
the  following  requirements :  To  be  a  Spanish  citizen,  to  be  a  layman,  to 
have  attained  his  majority,  to  be  in  full  enjoyment  of  civil  rights,  to 
have  been  born  in  the  island  or  to  have  had  four  years'  constant  resi- 
dence therein,  and  not  to  be  subject  to  any  pending  criminal  prosecu- 
tion. 

Art.  13.  Eepresentatives  shall  be  elected  every  five  years,  and  any 
representative  may  be  reelected  any  number  of  times. 

The  insular  chamber  shall  determine  what  classes  of  ofiices  are  incom- 
patible with  the  office  of  representative,  as  well  as  the  cases  governing 
reelection. 

Ar'I'.  14.  Any  representative  upon  whom  either  the  local  or  home 
government  shall  confer  a  pension,  or  any  employment,  promotion 
(unless  it  be  by  strict  seniority),  paid  commission,  title,  or  decoration, 
shall  cease  to  be  such  without  necessity  of  any  declaration  to  that 
effect,  unless  he  shall  within  fifteen  days  of  his  appointment  notify  the 
chamber  of  his  having  declined  the  favor. 

The  provisions  of  the  preceding  paragraph  shall  not  include  the 
representatives  who  shall  be  appointed  members  of  the  cabinet. 

Title  Y. 

proceedings  of  the  insular  chambers  and  their  relations 

to  each  other. 

Art.  15.  The  chambers  will  meet  every  year.  The  Kiug,  the  gov- 
ernor-general acting  in  his  name,  shall  convene,  suspend,  and  adjourn 
the  sessions  and  dissolve  the  chamber  of  representatives  and  the 
council  of  administration,  either  separately  or  simultaneously,  under 
the  obligation  to  call  them  together  again  or  renew  them  within  three 
months. 


14 

Art.  16.  Each  of  the  two  legislative  bodies  shall  determine  the  rules 
of  their  proceedings  and  shall  be  the  judges  of  the  qualifications  of 
their  respective  members  and  the  legality  of  their  election. 

Until  the  chamber  and  the  council  shall  pass  their  own  rules,  they 
shall  be  governed  by  the  rules  of  the  national  house  of  representatives 
and  of  the  senate,  respectively. 

Akt.  17.  Each  chamber  shall  choose  its  j^resident,  vice-president, 
and  secretaries. 

Art.  18.  Neither  chamber  shall  sit  unless  the  other  be  sitting  also, 
excei)t  when  the  council  exercises  judicial  functions. 

Art.  19.  The  two  insular  chambers  shall  not  deliberate  together  nor 
in  the  presence  of  the  Governor-General. 

The  sessions  shall  be  public,  but  either  chamber  may  hold  secret  ses- 
sions whenever  business  of  a  private  nature  shall  require  it. 

Art.  20.  To  the  Governor-General,  through  his  secretaries,  as  well 
as  to  either  of  the  two  chambers,  belongs  the  power  to  initiate  and  pro- 
pose colonial  statutes. 

Art.  21.  All  colonial  statutes  in  regard  to  taxes  and  the  public 
credit  shall  originate  in  the  chamber  of  representatives. 

Art.  22.  liesolutions  may  be  passed  by  either  chamber  by  a  plural- 
ity of  votes;  but  in  order  to  pass  a  measure  of  a  legislative  character 
a  majority  of  all  the  members  constituting  the  body  must  be  present. 
Nevertheless,  one-third  of  the  members  shall  constitute  a  quorum  for 
deliberation. 

Art.  23.  No  resolution  or  law  shall  be  considered  passed  by  the 
insular  parliament  unless  it  has  had  the  concurrence  of  the  chamber 
of  representatives  and  the  council  of  administration. 

Art.  24.  Every  colonial  statute,  as  soon  as  it  has  been  approved  in 
the  form  prescribed  in  the  preceding  article,  shall  be  presented  to  the 
Governor-General  by  the  officers  of  both  chambers  for  his  sanction  and 
proclamation  of  the  same. 

Art.  25.  Members  of  the  council  and  the  chamber  of  representa- 
tives shall  have  immunity  for  any  speech  or  vote  in  either  chamber. 

Art.  26.  No  councilor  of  administration  shall  be  indicted  or  arrested 
without  a  previous  resolution  of  the  council,  unless  he  shall  be  found 
in  fraganti  or  the  council  shall  not  be  in  session,  but  in  every  case 
notice  shall  be  given  to  that  body  as  soon  as  possible,  that  it  may  deter- 
mine what  should  be  done.  Nor  shall  the  representatives  be  indicted 
or  arrested  during  the  sessions  without  the  permission  of  the  chamber 
unless  they  are  found  in  fraganti,  but  in  this  last  case,  or  in  case  of 
indictment  or  arrest  when  the  chamber  is  not  sitting,  notice  shall  be 
given  as  soon  as  possible  to  the  chamber  of  representatives  for  its 
•information  and  action.  All  proceedings  against  councilors  and  repre- 
sentatives shall  be  brought  before  the  pretorian  court  at  Havana  in 
the  cases  and  manner  that  shall  be  prescribed  by  colonial  statutes. 

Art.  27.  The  guarantees  established  in  the  foregoing  section  shall 
not  apply  to  a  councilor  or  representative  who  shall  himself  admit  that 


15 

he  is  the  author  of  any  article,  book,  pamphlet,  or  printed  matter 
wherein  military  sedition  is  incited  or  invoked,  or  the  Governor-General 
is  insulted  and  maligned,  or  national  sovereignty  is  assailed. 

AiiT.  28.  The  relations  between  the  two  chambers  shall  be  governed, 
until  otherwise  provided,  by  the  act  of  July  19,  1837,  regulating  the 
relations  between  the  two  legislative  houses  of  the  Cortes. 

Art.  29.  Besides  the  power  of  enacting  laws  for  the  colony  the  insu- 
lar chambers  shall  have  power: 

1.  To  receive  the  oath  of  the  Governor-General  to  preserve  the  con- 
stitution and  the  laws  which  guarantee  the  autonomy  of  the  colony. 

2.  To  enforce  the  responsibility  of  the  secretaries  of  the  executive, 
who  shall  be  tried  by  the  council,  whenever  impeached  by  the  chamber 
of  representatives. 

3.  To  address  the  home  Government  through  the  Governor-General, 
proposing  the  abrogation  or  modification  of  existing  laws  of  the  King- 
dom; to  invite  the  home  Government  to  present  bills  as  to  particular 
matters,  or  to  ask  a  decision  of  an  executive  character  on  matters  which 
interest  the  colony. 

Art.  30.  The  Governor-General  shall  communicate  to  the  home  Gov- 
ernment before  jiresenting  to  the  insular  parliament  ajiy  bill  originat- 
ing in  the  executive  government  of  the  island  whenever,  in  his  judg- 
ment, said  bill  may  affect  national  interests.  Should  any  such  bill 
originate  in  the  insular  parliament,  the  government  of  the  island  shall 
ask  for  a  postponement  of  the  debate  until  the  home  Government  shall 
have  given  its  opinion. 

In  either  case  the  correspondence  passing  between  the  two  govern- 
ments shall  be  laid  before  the  chambers  and  published  in  the  official 
Gazette. 

Art.  31.  All  diflerences  of  jurisdiction  between  the  several  municipal, 
provincial,  and  insular  assemblies,  or  between  any  of  them  and  the 
executive,  which  by  their  nature  may  not  be  referred  to  the  home 
Goverment,  shall  be  submitted  to  the  courts  of  justice  in  accordance 
with  the  rules  herein  prescribed. 

Title  VI. 

powers  vested  in  the  insular  parliament. 

Art.  32.  The  insular  chambers  shall  have  power  to  pass  upon  all 
matters  not  speciallj^  and  expressly  reserved  to  the  Cortes  of  the  King- 
dom or  to  the  central  Government  as  herein  ])rovided,  or  as  may  be 
provided  hereafter,  in  accordance  with  the  prescription  set  forth  in 
additional  article  2. 

In  this  manner,  and  without  implying  that  the  following  enumeration 
presupposes  any  limitation  of  their  power  to  legislate  on  other  subjects, 
they  shall  have  power  to  legislate  on  all  matters  and  subjects  concern- 
ing the  departments  of  justice,  interior,  treasury,  public  works,  educa- 
tion, and  agriculture. 


16 

Tliey  shall  likewise  have  exclusive  cognizance  of  all  matters  of  a 
purely  local  nature  which  may  priucipally  atlect  the  colonial  territory; 
and  to  this  end  they  shall  have  power  to  legislate  on  civil  administra- 
tion; on  provincial,  municipal,  or  judicial  apportionment;  on  public 
health,  by  land  or  sea,  and  on  public  credit,  banks,  and  the  monetary 
system. 

This  power,  however,  shall  not  impair  the  powers  vested  in  the 
colonial  executive  according  to  the  laws  in  connection  with  the  matters 
above  mentioned. 

Art,  33.  It  shall  be  incumbent  upon  the  colonial  parliament  to  make 
regulations  under  such  national  laws  as  may  be  passed  by  the  Cortes 
and  expressly  intrusted  to  it.  Especially  among  such  measures,  par- 
liament shall  legislate,  and  may  do  so  at  the  first  sitting,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  regulating  the  elections,  the  taking  of  the  electoral  census, 
qualifying  electors,  and  exercising  the  right  of  suffrage;  but  in  no 
event  shall  these  dispositions  affect  the  rights  of  the  citizens,  as  estab- 
livShed  by  the  electoral  laws. 

Art.  34.  Notwithstanding  that  the  laws  governing  the  judiciary  and 
the  administration  of  justice  are  of  a  national  character,  and  therefore 
obligatory  for  the  colony,  the  insular  parliament  may,  within  the  pro- 
visions of  said  laws,  make  rules  or  propose  to  the  home  government 
such  measures  as  shall  render  easier  the  admission,  continuance,  or 
promotion  in  the  local  courts  of  lawyers,  natives  of  the  island,  or 
practicing  therein. 

The  Governor-General  in  council  shall  have,  as  far  as  the  island  of 
Cuba  is  concerned,  the  same  power  that  has  been  vested  heretofore  in 
the  minister  for  the  colonies  for  the  appointment  of  the  functionaries 
and  subordinate  and  auxiliary  officers  of  the  judicial  order  and  as  to 
the  other  matters  connected  with  the  administration  of  justice. 

Art.  35.  The  insular  parliament  shall  have  exclusive  power  to  frame 
the  local  budget  of  expenditures  and  revenues,  including  the  revenue 
corresponding  to  the  island  as  her  quota  of  the  national  budget. 

To  this  end  the  Governor- General  shall  present  to  the  chambers 
every  year  before  the  month  of  January  the  budget  for  the  next  fiscal 
year,  divided  in  two  parts,  as  follows:  The  first  part  shall  state  the 
revenues  needed  to  defray  the  expenses  of  sovereignty,  and  the  second 
part  shall  state  the  revenues  and  expenditures  estimated  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  colonial  administration. 

Neither  chamber  shall  take  up  the  budget  of  the  colonial  govern- 
ment without  having  finally  voted  the  part  for  the  maintenance  ol 
sovereignty. 

Art.  3().  The  Cortes  of  the  Kingdom  shall  determine  what  expendi- 
tures are  to  be  considered  by  reason  of  their  nature  as  obligatory 
expenses  inherent  to  sovereignty,  and  shall  fix  the  amount  every  three 
years  and  the  revenue  needed  to  defray  the  same,  the  Cortes  reserving 
the  right  to  alter  this  rule. 


17 

Art.  37.  All  treaties  of  commerce  aflecting-  the  island  of  Cuba,  be 
they  suggested  by  the  insular  or  by  the  home  goverument,  shall  be 
made  by  the  latter  with  the  cooperation  of  special  delegates  duly 
authorized  by  the  colonial  government,  whose  concurrence  shall  be 
acknowledged  upon  submitting  the  treaties  to  the  Cortes. 

Said  treaties,  when  approved  by  the  Cortes,  shall  be  proclaimed  as 
laws  of  the  Kingdom  and  as  such  shall  obtain  in  the  colony. 

Art.  38.  Notice  shall  be  given  to  the  insular  government  of  any 
commercial  treaties  made  without  its  participation  as  soon  as  said 
treaties  shall  become  laws,  to  the  end  that,  within  a  period  of  three 
months,  it  may  declare  its  acceptance  or  nonacceptance  of  their  stipu- 
lations. In  case  of  acceptance  the  Governor-General  shall  cause  the 
treaty  to  be  published  in  the  Gazette  as  a  colonial  statute. 

Art.  39.  The  insular  parliament  shall  also  have  power  to  frame  the 
tariff  and  fix  the  duties  to  be  paid  on  merchandise  as  well  for  its 
importation  into  the  territory  of  the  island  as  for  the  exi^ortation 
thereof. 

Art.  40.  As  a  transition  from  the  old  regime  to  the  new  constitution, 
and  until  the  home  and  insular  governments  may  otherwise  conjointly 
determine  hereafter,  the  commercial  relations  between  the  island  and 
the  metropolis  shall  be  governed  by  the  following  rules: 

1.  'No  differential  duty,  whether  fiscal  or  otherwise,  either  on  imports 
or  exports,  shall  be  imj)osed  to  the  detriment  of  either  insular  or  pen- 
insular i)roduction. 

2.  The  two  governments  shall  make  a  schedule  of  articles  of  direct 
national  origin  to  which  shall  be  allowed  by  common  consent  preferen- 
tial duty  over  similar  foreign  j)roducts. 

In  another  schedule  made  in  like  manner  shall  be  determined  such 
articles  of  direct  insular  ijroductiou  as  shall  be  entitled  to  privileged 
treatment  on  their  imi^ortation  into  the  peninsula  and  the  amount  of 
preferential  duties  thereon. 

In  neither  case  shall  the  preferential  duty  exceed  35  per  cent. 

Should  the  home  and  the  colonial  government  agree  upon  the' 
schedules  and  the  preferential  duties,  they  shall  be  considered  final  and 
shall  be  enforced  at  once.  In  case  of  disagreement  the  j)oint  in  dispute 
shall  be  submitted  to  a  committee  of  representatives  of  the  Cortes, 
consisting  of  an  equal  number  of  Cubans  and  Peninsulars.  The  com- 
mittee shall  appoint  its  chairman,  and  in  case  of  disagreement  the 
eldest  member  shall  preside.  The  chairman  shall  have  the  casting 
vote. 

3.  The  valuation  tables  concerning  the  articles  in  the  schedules 
above  mentioned  shall  be  fixed  by  mutual  agreement,  and  shall  be 
revised  after  discussion  every  two  years.  The  modifications  which  may 
thereupon  become  necessary  in  the  tariff  duties  shall  be  carried  out  at 
once  by  the  respective  governments. 

4079 2 


18 
Title  VII. 

THE   GOVERNOR  GENERAL. 

Art.  41.  The  supreme  authority  of  the  colony  shall  be  vested  in  a 
Governor-General,  appointed  by  the  Kinj;-  on  the  nomination  of  the 
council  of  ministers.  In  his  capacity  he  shall  have  as  viceroyal  patron 
the  power  inherent  in  the  patronate  of  the  Indies;  lie  shall  have  com- 
mand of  all  military  and  naval  forces  in  the  island ;  he  shall  act  as  dele- 
gate of  the  departments  of  state,  war,  navy,  and  the  colonies;  all  other 
authorities  in  the  island  shall  be  subordinate  to  his,  and  he  shall  be 
responsible  for  the  preservation  of  order  and  the  safety  of  the  colony. 

The  Governor-General  shall,  before  taking  possession  of  his  office, 
take  an  oath  in  the  presence  of  the  King  to  discharge  his  duties  faith- 
fully and  loyally. 

Art.  42.  The  Governor-General,  representing  the  nation,  will  dis- 
charge by  himself  and  with  the  aid  of  his  secretaries  all  the  functions 
indicated  in  the  preceding  articles  and  such  others  as  may  devolve 
upon  him  as  direct  delegate  of  the  King  in  matters  of  a  national 
character. 

It  shall  be  Incumbent  upon  the  Governor  General  as  representing  the 
home  government: 

1.  To  appoint  without  restriction  the  secretaries  of  his  cabinet. 

2.  To  proclaim,  execute,  and  cause  to  be  executed  in  the  island  all 
laws,  decrees,  treaties,  international  covenants,  and  all  other  acts  ema- 
nating from  the  legislative  branch  of  the  Government,  as  well  as  all 
decrees,  royal  commands,  and  other  measures  emanating  from  the 
executive  which  shall  be  communicated  to  him  by  the  departments  of 
which  he  acts  as  delegate. 

Whenever  in  his  judgment  and  in  that  of  his  secretaries  he  considers 
the  resolutions  of  the  home  government  as  liable  to  injure  the  general 
interests  of  the  nation  or  the  special  interests  of  the  island,  he  shall 
have  power  to  suspend  the  publication  and  execution  thereof,  and  shall 
so  notify  the  respective  department,  stating  the  reasons  for  his  action. 

3.  To  grant  pardons  in  the  name  of  the  King,  within  the  limitations 
specially  prescribed  to  him  in  his  instructions  from  the  Government, 
and  to  stay  the  execution  of  a  death  sentence  whenever  the  gravity 
of  the  circumstances  shall  so  demand  or  the  urgency  of  the  case  shall 
allow  of  no  time  to  solicit  and  obtain  His  Majesty's  pardon;  but  in 
either  case  he  shall  hear  the  counsel  of  his  secretaries. 

4.  To  suspend  the  guarantees  set  forth  in  articles  3,  5,  6,  and  9,  and  in 
the  first,  second,  and  third  paragraphs  of  article  13  of  the  constitution ; 
to  enforce  legislation  in  regard  to  public  order,  and  to  take  all  measures 
which  he  may  deem  necessary  to  preserve  the  i)eace  within  and  the 
safety  without  for  the  territory  entrusted  to  him  after  hearing  the  coun- 
sel of  his  cabinet. 

5.  To  take  care  that  in  the  colony  justice  be  promptly  and  fully 


19 

administered,  and  that  it  sLall  always  be  administered  in  the  name  of 
the  King-. 

0.  To  bold  direct  communication  on  foreign  afifairs  with  the  ministers, 
diplomatic  agents,  and  consuls  of  Spain  throughout  America. 

A  full  copy  of  such  correspondence  shall  be  simultaneously  forwarded 
to  the  home  Department  of  State. 

Art.  43.  It  behooves  the  Governor-General,  as  the  superior  authority 
in  the  colony  and  head  of  its  administration: 

1.  To  take  care  that  the  rights,  powers,  and  privileges  now  vested 
or  that  may  henceforth  be  vested  in  the  colonial  administration  be 
respected  and  protected. 

2.  To  sanction  and  proclaim  the  acts  of  the  insular  parliament,  which 
shall  be  submitted  to  him  by  the  president  and  secretaries  of  the 
respective  chambers. 

Whenever,  in  the  .iudgment  of  the  Governor-General,  an  act  of  the 
insular  parliament  goes  beyond  its  powers  or  impairs  the  rights  of  the 
citizens  as  set  forth  in  Article  I  of  the  constitution,  or  curtails  the  guar- 
antees prescribed  by  law  for  the  exercise  of  said  rights,  or  jeopards  tlie 
interest  of  the  colony  or  of  the  nation,  he  shall  forward  the  act  to  the 
council  of  ministers  of  the  Kingdom,  which,  within  a  period  that  shall 
not  exceed  two  mouths,  shall  either  assent  to  it  or  return  it  to  the 
Governor-General  with  the  objections  to  its  sanction  and  proclamation. 
The  insular  parliament  may,  in  view  of  the  objections,  reconsider  or 
modify  the  act,  if  it  deems  tit,  without  a  special  proposition. 

If  two  months  shall  elapse  without  the  central  government  giving 
any  opinion  as  to  a  measure  agreed  upon  by  the  chambers  which  has 
been  transmitted  to  it  by  the  Governor-General,  the  latter  shall  sanc- 
tion and  proclaim  the  same. 

3.  To  appoint,  suspend,  and  discharge  the  employees  of  the  colonial 
administration,  upon  the  suggestion  of  the  secretaries  of  the  depart- 
ments and  in  accordance  with  the  laws. 

4.  To  appoint  and  remove,  without  restriction,  the  secretaries  of  his 
cabinet. 

Art.  44.  No  executive  order  of  the  Governor-General,  acting  as 
representative  and  chief  of  the  colony,  shall  take  effect  unless  counter- 
signed by  a  secretary  of  the  cabinet,  who  by  this  act  alone  shall  make 
himself  responsible  for  the  same. 

Art.  45.  There  shall  be  five  secretaries  of  department,  to  wit: 

Grace  and  justice  and  interior;  finance;  public  education,  public 
works  and  posts  and  telegraphs;  agriculture,  industry,  and  commerce. 

Tiie  Governor-General  shall  appoint  the  president  of  the  cabinet 
from  among  the  secretaries,  and  shall  also  have  power  to  appoint  a 
president  without  a  secret ar\  ship. 

The  power  to  increase  or  diminish  the  number  of  secretaries  com- 
posing the  colonial  cabinet,  and  to  determine  the  scope  of  each  depart- 
ment, is  vested  in  the  insular  parliament. 


20 

Art.  40.  The  secretaries  of  tlie  cabinet  may  be  members  of  either 
the  chamber  of  representatives  or  the  council  of  ailniinistration  and 
take  part  in  the  debates  of  either  cbaniber,  but  a  secretary  sliall  ouly 
vote  in  the  chamber  of  wliich  he  is  a  member. 

Art.  47.  The  secretaries  of  the  cabinet  shall  be  responsible  to  the 
insular  parliament. 

Art.  48.  The  Governor-General  shall  not  modify  or  abrogate  bis  own 
orders  after  they  are  assented  to  by  the  home  Government,  or  when  they 
shall  declare  some  rifjhts,  or  when  a  sentence  by  a  judicial  court  or 
administrative  tribunal  shall  have  been  based  ui)on  said  orders,  or 
when  they  shall  deal  with  his  own  competency. 

Art.  49.  The  Governor-General  shall  not  turn  over  his  office  when 
leaving  the  island  except  by  special  command  from  the  home  govern- 
ment. In  case  of  absence  from  the  seat  of  government  which  i)revent8 
his  discharging  the  duties  of  his  office  or  of  disability  to  i^erform  such 
duties,  he  can  appoint  one  or  more  persons  to  take  his  place,  provided 
the  home  government  has  not  previously  done  so  or  the  method  of 
substitution  shall  not  be  stated  in  his  instructions. 

Art.  50.  The  supreme  court  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  the 
Governor-General  when  impeached  for  his  responsibilities  as  defined  by 
the  Penal  Code. 

The  council  of  ministers  shall  take  cognizance  of  his  other  responsi- 
bilities. 

Art.  51.  The  Governor-General  shall  have  the  power,  in  spite  of  the 
provisions  of  the  ditferent  articles  of  this  decree,  to  act  upon  his  own 
responsibility,  without  consulting  his  secretaries,  in  the  following  cases: 

1.  When  forwarding  to  the  home  Government  a  bill  passed  by  the 
insular  parliament,  especially  when,  in  his  oijinion,  it  shall  abridge  the 
rights  set  forth  in  Article  1  of  the  constitution  of  the  monarchy  or  the 
guarantees  for  the  exercise  thereof  vouchsafed  by  the  laws. 

-!.  When  it  shall  be  necessary  to  enforce  the  law  or  public  order, 
especially  if  there  be  no  time  or  possibility  to  consult  the  home  Gov- 
ernment. 

3.  When  enforcing  the  national  laws  that  shall  have  been  approved 
by  the  Crown  and  made  applicable  to  all  of  the  Spanish  or  to  the 
colony  under  his  government. 

The  proceedings  and  means  of  action  which  the  Governor-General 
shall  em[)loy  iu  the  above  cases  shall  be  determined  by  a  special  law. 

Title  YIII. 
mttnicipal  and  provincial  government. 

Art.  52.  Municipal  organization  shall  be  compulsory  for  every  group 
of  population  of  more  than  one  thousand  inhabitants. 

Groups  of  less  number  of  inhabitants  may  organize  the  service  of 
their  community  by  special  covenants. 


21 

Every  legally  constituted  municipality  shall  have  power  to  frame  its 
own  laws  regarding  public  education ;  highways  by  land,  river,  and  sea; 
public  health;  municipal  finances,  as  well  as  to  freely  appoint  and 
remove  its  own  employees. 

Art.  53.  At  the  head  of  each  j^rovince  there  shall  be  an  assembly, 
which  shall  be  elected  in  the  manner  provided  for  by  the  colonial 
statutes,  and  shall  be  comi)osed  of  a  number  of  members  in  i)roportion 
to  the  population. 

Art.  54.  The  provincial  assembly  shall  be  autonomous  as  regards 
the  creation  and  maintenance  of  public  schools  and  colleges;  charitable 
institutions  and  provincial  roads  and  ways  by  land,  river,  or  sea;  also 
as  regards  their  own  budgets  and  the  appointment  and  removal  of  their 
respective  employees. 

Art.  55.  The  municipalities,  as  well  as  the  provincial  assemblies, 
shall  have  power  to  freely  raise  the  necessary  revenue  to  cover  their 
expenditures,  with  no  other  limitation  than  to  make  the  means  adopted 
comiiatible  with  the  general  system  of  taxation  which  shall  obtain  in 
the  island. 

The  resources  for  provincial  appropriations  shall  be  independent  of 
municipal  resources. 

Art.  56.  The  mayors  and  presidents  of  boards  of  aldermen  shall  be 
chosen  by  their  resi^ective  boards  from  among  their  members. 

Art.  57.  The  mayors  shall  discharge  without  limitation  the  active 
duties  of  the  municipal  administration,  as  executors  of  the  resolutions 
of  the  board  of  aldermen  or  their  representatives. 

Art.  5S,  The  aldermen  and  the  provincial  assemblymen  shall  be  civ- 
illy responsible  for  the  damages  caused  by  their  acts. 

Their  responsibility  shall  be  exacted  before  the  ordinary  courts  of 
justice. 

Art.  59.  The  provincial  assemblies  shall  freely  choose  their  respect- 
ive presidents. 

Art.  go.  The  elections  of  aldermen  and  assemblymen  shall  be  con- 
ducted in  such  manner  as  to  allow  for  a  legitimate  representation  of 
the  minorities. 

Art.  G1.  The  provincial  and  municipal  laws  now  obtaining  in  the 
island  shall  continue  in  vogue,  wherever  not  in  conflict  with  the  provi- 
sions of  this  decree,  until  the  insular  parliament  shall  legislate  upon  the 
matter. 

Art.  (52.  No  colonial  statute  shall  abridge  the  powers  vested  by  the 
preceding  articles  in  the  municipalities  and  the  provincial  assemblies. 

Title  IX. 

AS  TO   the   guaranties  FOR  THE  FULFILLMENT   OF   THE   COLONIAL 

CONSTITUTION. 

Art.  63.  Whenever  a  citizen  shall  consider  that  his  rights  have  been 
violated  or  his  interests  injured  by  the  action  of  a  municipality  or  a 


22 

provincial  assembly  he  shall  have  the  right  to  apply  to  the  courts  of 
justice  for  redi'ess. 

The  departmeut  of  justice  shall,  if  so  required  by  the  agents  of  the 
executive  government  of  the  colony,  prosecute  before  the  courts  the 
boards  of  aldermen  or  provincial  assemblies  charged  with  breaking 
the  laws  or  abusing  their  power. 

Art.  04.  In  the  cases  referred  to  in  the  preceding  article,  the  follow- 
ing courts  shall  have  jurisdiction :  The  territorial  audiencia  shall  try  all 
claims  against  municipalities;  and  the  pretoriau  court  of  Uavana  shall 
try  all  claims  against  provincial  assemblies. 

Said  courts,  when  the  charges  against  any  of  the  above-mentioned 
corporations  shall  be  for  abuse  of  power,  shall  render  their  decisions 
by  a  full  bench.  From  the  decision  of  the  Territorial  audiencia  an 
appeal  shall  be  allowed  to  the  pretoriau  court  of  Havana,  and  from  the 
decisions  of  the  latter  an  appeal  shall  be  allowed  to  the  supreme  court 
of  the  Kingdom. 

Art.  65.  The  redress  of  grievances  which  Article  02  grants  to  any 
citizen  can  also  be  had  collectively  by  means  of  public  action,  by 
appointing  an  attorney  or  representative  claimant. 

Art.  60.  Without  in  any  way  impairing  the  powers  vested  in  the 
Governor-General  by  Title  V  of  the  present  decree,  he  may,  whenever 
he  deems  fit,  appear  before  the  pretoriau  court  of  Havana  in  his  capacity 
as  chief  of  the  executive  government  of  the  colony,  to  the  end  that  said 
court  shall  finally  decide  any  conflict  of  jurisdiction  between  the  execu- 
tive power  and  the  legislative  chambers  of  the  colony. 

Art.  67.  Should  any  question  of  jurisdiction  be  raised  between  the 
insular  Parliament  and  the  Governor-General  in  his  capacity  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  home  government,  which  shall  not  have  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  council  of  ministers  of  the  Kingdom  by  petition  of  the 
insular  Parliament,  either  party  shall  have  power  to  bring  the  matter 
before  the  supreme  court  of  the  Kingdom,  which  shall  render  its  deci- 
sion by  a  full  bench  and  in  the  first  instance. 

Art.  68.  The  decisions  rendered  in  all  cases  provided  for  in  the  pre- 
ceding articles  shall  be  published  in  the  collection  of  colonial  statutes 
and  shall  form  part  of  the  insular  legislation. 

Art.  69.  Every  municipal  measure  for  the  purpose  of  contracting  a 
loan  or  a  municii^al  debt  shall  be  without  effect,  unless  it  be  assented 
to  by  a  majority  of  the  townspeople  whenever  one-third  of  the  number 
of  aldermen  shall  so  demand. 

The  amount  of  the  loan  or  debt  which,  according  to  the  number  of 
inhabitants  of  a  township,  shall  make  the  referendum  iDroceeding  nec- 
essary, shall  be  determined  by  special  statute. 

Art.  70.  All  legislative  acts  originating  in  the  insular  parliament 
or  the  cortes  shall  be  compiled  under  the  title  of  colonial  statutes  in  a 
legislative  collection,  the  formation  and  publication  of  which  shall  be 
entrusted  to  the  Governor-General  as  chief  of  the  colonial  executive. 


23     :;:•.•-  V        *.-i 

ADDITIONAL   AKTI(iLESi»*{*  -  .  •  '  .,'  •   ,•;. 

Atjt.  1.  Until  tbe  colonial  stiitutes  shall  be  published  in  due  form, 
the  laws  of  tlie  Kingdom  shall  be  deemed  applicable  to  all  matters 
reserved  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  iusular  government. 

Art.  2.  When  the  present  constitution  shall  be  once  approved  by 
the  Cortes  of  the  Kingdom  for  the  islands  of  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico,  it 
shall  not  be  amended  except  by  virtue  of  a  special  law  and  upon  the 
l)etition  of  the  insular  parliament. 

Art.  3.  The  provisions  of  the  present  decree  shall  obtain  in  their 
entirety  in  the  island  of  Porto  Eico;  they  shall,  however,  be  ordained 
by  special  decree  in  order  to  conform  them  to  the  population  and 
nomenclature  of  said  island. 

Art.  4.  Pending  contracts  for  public  services  affecting  in  common 
the  Antilles  and  the  Peninsula  shall  continue  in  their  jiresent  shape 
until  termination,  and  shall  be  entirely  governed  by  the  conditions  and 
stipulations  therein  made. 

As  regards  other  contracts  already  entered  into,  but  not  yet  in 
operation,  the  Governor-General  shall  consult  the  home  government,  or 
the  colonial  chambers,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  the  two  governments 
shall  by  mutual  accord  decide  as  between  themselves  the  final  form  of 
such  contract. 

transitory  provisions. 

Art.  1.  With  a  view  to  carry  out  the  transition  from  the  present 
regime  to  the  system  hereby  established  with  the  greatest  possible  dis- 
patch and  the  least  interruption  of  the  jiublic  business,  the  Governor- 
General  shall,  whenever  he  deems  it  timely  and  after  consulting  the 
home  Government,  appoint  the  secretaries  of  the  executive  office  as  per 
article  45  of  this  decree,  and  with  their  aid  he  shall  conduct  the  local 
government  of  the  island  until  the  insular  chambers  shall  have  been 
constituted.  The  secretaries  thus  appointed  shall  vacate  their  offices 
as  soon  as  the  Governor-General  shall  take  his  oath  of  office  before  the 
insular  chambers,  and  the  Governor-General  shall  immediately  appoint 
as  their  successors  the  members  of  parliament  who,  in  his  judgment, 
most  fully  represent  the  majorities  in  the  chamber  of  representatives 
and  the  council  of  administration. 

Art.  2.  The  manner  of  meeting  the  expenditures  occasioned  by  the 
debt  now  weighing  upon  the  Spanish  and  Cuban  treasuries,  and  the 
debt  that  may  be  contracted  until  the  termination  of  the  war,  shall  be 
determined  by  a  law  fixing  the  share  that  shall  be  borne  by  each  treas- 
ury, and  the  special  ways  and  means  for  the  payment  of  the  interest, 
and  the  sinking  fund,  and  for  refunding  the  princij)al  in  due  time. 

Until  the  Cortes  of  the  Kingdom  shall  decide  this  point  no  changes 
shall  be  made  in  the  conditions  under  which  said  debts  were  contracted, 
nor  in  the  payment  of  the  interest,  nor  provisions  for  a  sinking  fund. 


24 

nor  in  tb^.  guarantees  TVhicxi  cliey  enjoy,  nor  in  tlie  actual  terms  of 
payment. 

When  the  Cortes  shall  have  apportioned  the  shares,  each  of  the  two 
treasuries  shall  take  upon  itself  the  payment  of  the  share  allotted. 

In  no  event  shall  the  obligations  contracted  towards  the  lenders  on 
the  faith  of  the  Spanish  nation  cease  to  be  scrupulously  respected. 

Issued  in  the  Palace,  Madrid,  November  25,  1897. 

Maria  Ceistina. 

The  President  of  the  Council  of  Ministers, 

Pkaxedes  Mateo  Sagasta. 


4 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

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